


The Clown

by CantSpeakFae



Series: The Scars Souvenir [2]
Category: Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Genre: Abusive/Neglectful Parents, Pre-Canon, Preschool BFFs
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-13
Updated: 2019-03-13
Packaged: 2019-11-16 16:54:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 881
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18098357
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CantSpeakFae/pseuds/CantSpeakFae
Summary: It’s his birthday. He’s had those before - five of them so far - but this one is the most special one, because this time he gets cake, presents, AND a party!





	The Clown

It’s his birthday. He’s had those before - five of them so far - but this one is the most special one, because this time he gets cake, presents, AND a party! He doesn’t understand why six is such a special age for him to get so many cool things, but he took the invitations that his mother prints out and runs around the school, handing them to everyone. Even Cordelia Chase, who looks at him funny and tells him that her Daddy says his family is “plain white trash” which is why he smells.   
  
(He thought about taking the invitation back, after that, but he still had a lot to hand out, so he zoomed off instead.)   
  
And now it’s here!   
  
People come to his house for the first time. It’s not as big or as fancy as some other people’s. Not as nice as Willow or Cordelia’s, but his mom spent the whole day scrubbing it and his dad even mowed the lawn and picked the trash up so they could all sit outside. Presents pile up on the table and there’s a big cake with his name on it. Everyone gets silly hats and they play silly games, and Xander’s never felt more popular or more special in his life. Even his dad comes out and sits with the other dads. And Xander hears them complaining about how much their wives spend on these parties but it doesn’t matter to him. Dad’s always mad, anyway, and for once, Xander is happy.   
  
“Oh, shit, he’s here. Xander! Come here, baby-doll. Mommy’s got a surprise, for you!”   
  
Xander looked up from where he and Jesse had been chucking empty juice boxes at each other and trying to dodge them like ninjas, his face brightening with the thrill of another surprise. He hops up from the ground, grass stains on his new clothes, and bounds over to his mother, who takes him kindly by the hand and leads him over to the gate that keeps him from wandering out into the street. Someone was standing there.  
  
“Look who’s here, sweet face!” She said, opening the gate. Xander’s gaze traveled upward, following the trail of a multi-colored onesie to a ruffled collar and a painted face with bright green hair that was styled oddly and a smile that was just too big. “See what Mommy got? Say hello to the clown, Alexander.”  
  
Xander opened his mouth… and screamed. He tried to hide behind his mommy, but Jessica huffed impatiently and knelt down, pretending to soothe him, but hissing in his ear.  
  
“Play with the fucking clown, Xander. Mommy didn’t spend this much money for you to embarrass me.”   
  
Then she pushed him toward the clown and stepped away, giving him a warning look when he tried to scramble back to her. Dismissing him completely. Petrified and realizing that his mother - the only person who soothed him when he cried and helped him clean up when Daddy got mad - wasn’t going to help him, he scrambled to his feet and started to run away.   
  
The clown laughed like mad and started to chase after him. Xander could hear the squeak-squeak-squeak of his shoes on the sidewalk.   
  
“Hey there, little guy!” He shouted after him, in an exaggerated silly voice. “Yeah, let’s play tag! I’ll be it!”   
  


* * *

  
“I told you we didn’t need a fucking party.” Tony Harris said, later that afternoon, after all the guests had cleared out, tossing a leftover paper plate with a mostly uneaten slice of cheap grocery store cake into the trash. “Little shit didn’t even appreciate it.”   
  
He shot a nasty look to Xander, who was still bawling at the kitchen table. The harsh words only made him cry harder.   
  
“Shut the fuck up, Tony. Jesus, did it kill you to have a little interaction with the neighbors? You wanna be the only fucking parents who didn’t throw a party for their kid? Have some nosy assholes sniffing around us?”   
  
“Yeah, real fuckin’ success, Jess. If it was so great, why is the kid still freaking out?”   
  
“The fucking clown scared him. He’s a kid, whaddya want? They cry over everything. The other parents enjoyed themselves - you know this is why we don’t have any friends, Tony. You never wanna be civil. Could barely get ya to drink with the other dads. Make from friendships. Hell, invite them over for a poker night or something. Lotta those guys have money.”   
  
“Don’t make this about me, Jessica, or I swear I’ll - BOY IF YOU DON’T SHUT THE FUCK UP.”   
  
“Xander! Stop crying!”   
  
Xander ducked his head down low, crossing his arms over the table and resting his head down against them, trying to muffle the sound of his still frantic cries. The rest of the party had been a disaster. The clown had scared him so badly that he’d fallen over and… and…  
  
Well, he didn’t want to say what’d happened, but no one would ever let him forget it. There were already songs and taunting at work. But a lot worse than that was that neither of his parents thought to comfort him… or even help him change his pants.  
  
 _The clown was scary, but the fighting was worse, and he was left there to cry for a long time._


End file.
